


Hidden In The Nether

by AsterArkane



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Feral TommyInnit (Video Blogging RFP), Fox Hybrid Floris | Fundy, Not Canon Compliant, Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Parental Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Ram Hybrid Toby Smith | Tubbo, Toby Smith | Tubbo and Wilbur Soot are Siblings, Toby Smith | Tubbo in a Box, Traumatized Tommyinnit (Video Blogging RPF), Twins Wilbur Soot & Technoblade
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:14:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29258760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsterArkane/pseuds/AsterArkane
Summary: Tommy has grown up in the Nether not knowing of the outside until Wilbur finds him one day.No one knows anything about Tommy but his past in the Nether and even before will come back to haunt him.
Relationships: Floris | Fundy & Jschlatt & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Floris | Fundy & Wilbur Soot, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Wilbur Soot & Technoblade & Phil Watson, TommyInnit & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 22
Kudos: 451
Collections: Dream SMP Fics, Tommy-centric





	1. Chapter 1 - Beginnings

The barren wasteland filled with lava and death known as the Nether was never a place for a child.

Especially not a sixteen year old boy named Tommy who was barely able to keep himself going in these conditions.

People don’t live in the Nether it was a place for monsters and ash but even still Tommy had called this place home for many years.

The outside world was foriegn to him now and the memories of the blue sky had been replaced with the ashy red of the Nether’s roof.

Tommy had been living here since he was only around ten years old and his whole life had changed because of it.

He had run away from his captures and escaped into the nether portal before destroying it hoping that whoever was on the other side would never find him.

The first months in the Nether for Tommy were hell and he had almost died way too many times but after he had been helped by a fairly nice village of piglins he was fine.

It was a simple trading village but a few of the piglins seemed to be interested in Tommy especially since he wasn’t a creature they’d seen before.

It had taken them a year or two but Tommy had learnt the language of these people and then he had learned their skills.

Once Tommy was deemed old and wise enough by these villagers he had set off in hopes of finding a better way to sustain himself.

Tommy had always been independent so it was hard for him to stay with those people for so long.

It had come with a sense of security but Tommy knw he’d rather be off on his own exploring and making his own way in the world.

And that’s how he was now in the present living alone in a makeshift house that had been carved into one of the netherrack cliffs.

It was high enough that pesky magma cubes wouldn’t make their way inside and burn everything even if it was a bit of a workout to get to.

Tommy was ready for another day mining in this hellscape so he scaled his way down the wall of his home and down onto the ledge that overlooked the massive lava pool known as the floor in this place.

The Nether was made up of several levels and it sometimes got confusing as to which one you were on so Tommy had decided to put his home only two levels up from the lava pool.

This did mean that the area was filled with more lava pockets but that also meant there were less hostile mobs that could hurt him.

Tommy would much rather deal with lava than a stray wither skeleton that could be seen on the higher floors.

It had taken Tommy about a week to get down to this level since he was so high up but after setting up base it was easy to fly between levels.

Tommy was always hesitant to fly around in the Nether worried about his wings getting burnt by a stray fireball so he usually climbed his way up though the levels.

There was also an impulse to hide his wings with the magic he was taught at a young age whenever he was near mobs just to protect himself.

Tommy didn’t know why he was so cautious of others seeing his wings but it was better to be safe than sorry in the Nether.

The ramp that led to the third level was fairly easy to get to for Tommy so he began his journey upwards wanting to mine as soon as possible.

Tommy had learnt early on how to mine for netherite in the sea of nether rack and it was a fairly profitable business in these parts so the pros outweigh the cons.

The cons of course were that if he blew up a lava pocket he’d probably get seriously burnt but Tommy was confident in his skills to run away fast enough.

Tommy had always been a slippery little bugger and he’d be damned if he died to some measly lava.

Wad of tnt in hand Tommy travelled through the levels going past all his previous mines that had dried up long ago.

Tommy had been slowly working his way up the levels when mining and he was now on the twentieth level, one that was a good three hour walk from his house.

The Nether didn’t really have a sense of time so Tommy had mostly made it up as he went counting down the days whenever he felt tired.

It probably wasn’t anywhere near an accurate system but it worked well enough for Tommy down here.

Plus stuff like age or years was useless in the Nether so Tommy hadn’t really kept track if he had to estimate he’d be around sixteen now.

That was mostly just because his appearance and for all that Tommy knew he was already forty or even just thirteen.

Again, time didn’t have any use in here so it didn’t really matter.

Tommy walked by a few settlements on the way up trying to avoid the looming fortresses that sometimes popped up every few levels.

Tommy learnt early on that fortresses were places people went to die so he tried his best to avoid them at all costs.

The Nether’s interior could easily blend together and confuse someone if they had only just arrived and people tend to get lost but Tommy was easily navigating his way around.

Tommy had been down this path for years and as the way up expanded it just gave him more to remember on the way upwards.

The walk had only taken Tommy two and a half hours as he hadn’t stopped by any of the villages this time so he’d reached the mine earlier than expected.

Tommy placed all his other items outside the small path he’d dug into the nether rack and headed inside hands filled with sticks of tnt.

It was repetitive work and painfully boring but Tommy systematically began to make his way through the wall of netherrack.

This area was starting to dry up a bit and Tommy was a bit disappointed when at the end of the day he had only collected a measly two pieces of netherite.

That was the sign that Tommy had to move up a floor once more but that was tomorrow Tommy’s problem.

Right now Tommy just wanted to trade these pieces and go home already tired from the day's work.

After doing a few tests to make sure he definitely wasn’t missing any more of the ore Tommy began to pack up mentally listing the things he’d need to get for the journey to floor twenty one.

Each floor got increasingly more hostile so Tommy would probably just explore the floor tomorrow to see if it was safe enough for him to go up.

Tommy had come from floors in the upper hundred layers but he planned never to go back, it was way too much of a risk.

It was nice and quiet on the lower floors and Tommy liked it that way even if it meant getting a little burnt by lava every so often.

The trip back down was uneventful enough and Tommy only stopped once to sell the ore to some of the local piglin.

It was useful that Tommy had learnt their language otherwise he probably would’ve died out here not knowing how to trade with these people.

Even if it came at the cost of forgetting his old language Tommy was fine with that, it wasn’t like he would ever be able to go back to the overworld after all.

The only portal Tommy knew of was on at least the hundredth floor and he definitely didn’t want to be opening that one back up, no way was he going back there.

Tommy sighed, returning back to his little hole in the wall once again exhausted from another day's work.

Maybe if he had really tried Tommy could’ve escaped from here by now but Tommy didn’t want to.

Everything in the Nether just made sense to Tommy and he never wanted to leave the warm comfort of this hellscape.

Of course life would have other plans for Tommy as he would learn later and as the boy fell asleep the pieces began to be put in place.

Tomorrow would definitely hold some surprises for the now peacefully sleeping TommyInnit.


	2. Chapter 2 - Fateful Encounter

Tommy woke up with a groan.

He’d have to go up to level twenty one today and it wasn’t something Tommy was particularly looking forward to.

Upper floors brought upon unneeded risk to Tommy’s everyday life especially ones he hadn’t been able to explore before.

Even on his trip down to the second floor from the nightmare of the hundredth floor Tommy didn’t have time to stop.

It was dangerous for him to do so, so Tommy tried his best to just keep going without looking back.

In the present Tommy half regrets that decision since everything would be much easier if he had figured out what floors were safe enough for him to travel to.

Especially since each new floor was usually a new village of piglins who always had mixed reactions to Tommy’s presence.

Tommy knew he was an outcast in the Nether so he was always catios around new villages because he’s definitely been stabbed by a wary piglin before.

That was only on the fifth floor but from then on out Tommy made sure to greet the piglins before they had a chance to greet him with their knives out.

Usually all it took was a little bit of gold and the piglins would let Tommy trade with them but the amount had gotten exponentially more the higher he went up.

On the previous floor Tommy almost gave away an entire stack of gold just so the piglins wouldn’t gut him.

Tommy wasn’t going to let himself be stabbed so he brought two whole stacks of gold with him just in case.

Packing for a trip like this was always slightly different since Tommy didn’t know what might happen up there meaning he’d try and pack as much as he could.

Tommy only had ten inventory spaces just like the next guy so the bulk of his items had to be held in his backpack.

Tommy had gotten a heavy duty backpack a while back when he was first exploring the upper floors and it hasn’t failed him yet so he kept using it to this day.

With the bag on his back Tommy began to make his way up excited and fearful for the new opportunities this level would have.

Tommy didn’t take too long getting up to level twenty and checked out a few of his tunnels just in case before finding a way up.

Usually there was some sort of tunnel or pathway upwards but every few floors you’d have to scale a wall just to get up to the next level.

Unlucky enough for Tommy it seemed to be one of these times so he brought out his two pics and used then to climb upwards poking them into the netherrack.

Climbing in the Nether was always a dangerous endeavor especially when the occasional ghast would float by and you’d just have to pray they wouldn’t notice.

Tommy managed to make his way up the wall with only one close encounter when one of his picks had dug into a lava reserve meaning steaming hot lava poured out and onto Tommy’s hand.

It was times like that Tommy was grateful for his resistance to fire since it made getting his hand dipped in lava a hell of a lot less painful.

A normal person’s arm would’ve been melted off but Tommy managed to get away with a few burns.

No doubt if he stayed in there for a minute or two he’d probably melt as well but it would be a slow process.

Now with hand wounds Tommy had to be even more careful up here on an unexplored floor.

It was obvious there was a group of piglin here as there were paths carved into the netherrack for them to travel around this floor.

Tommy’s gold was as good as gone when he stepped foot inside their village and after ten minutes of communication with some of the piglin’s elders he was allowed safe entrance.

This village was bigger than the ones on Tommy’s floors and it could probably be classified as a town especially since they had a market that connected with the floor above them.

At least that meant the next floor up would be easy to travel too if the two towns were already connected and had good relations.

Tommy decided to walk around the marketplace curious as to what this new area had to offer and as he explored Tommy found some interesting stuff.

This place actually had some decent cloth which was hard to find in a place like this and what surprised Tommy even more was that one vendor was selling wool.

Usually wool would be used for beds but those would just blow up in the nether for some reason so people didn’t find any use for it.

Tommy was always pissed off about the whole bed thing since it meant he had to sleep on the floor with only a blanket and makeshift pillow between him and the ground.

The town seemed good enough so Tommy went over to the nether walls to see if anyone had already started mining down here.

The piglins would always stay away from netherite mining since it was way too dangerous so of course there were no mines along the walls.

Tommy was satisfied with the results of his trip and was ready to head back down when he heard an unfamiliar noise heading towards him.

It sounded like a group of piglins but when Tommy listened in further they weren’t speaking any language he recognised.

Suddenly a wave of fear washed over Tommy and he ran over to the nearest outcrop hiding behind it as to not be seen by these unknown mobs.

“Why’d we even go down this far?” The unfamiliar voice sounded way too close for comfort and Tommy shrunk down further “I was curious, plus Techno wanted to come here,”.

There were more than one of these people now and the second voice sounded older “Yeah, The time in here just messes me up,” The voice seemed like it was complaining and the footsteps came to a halt.

“What’d you stop for?,” The older one had a confused tone but Tommy couldn’t understand a word “There’s someone here,” that was another new voice and Tommy could recognise the words had an accent.

Tommy’s fight or flight senses were kicking in now as he heard the three people slowly approaching the rock that he was currently hiding behind.

Just before the three could reach Tommy he bolted running back towards the cliff hoping to lose them when he got to the twentieth floor.

One of the people let out a surprised yelp while the other two began to chase Tommy slowly catching up to the boy.

The largest of the three was the fastest and he looked eerily like a piglin but with the traits of a normal human mixed in.

Tommy only had time to look at the one who was closest to him before he was fully focused on running.

“Wait!” The brown haired one yelled out to Tommy but he couldn’t tell what the guy was trying to say so the running continued.

They chased Tommy until he was at the very edge of the floor overlooking the massive cliff that separated him from these people and freedom.

The three came to a halt a few meters in front of Tommy and all of them looked equally confused as they looked at him trying to figure out what was going on.

“Hey, Calm down we just wanna talk,” Wilbur walked forward looking at the boy with a friendly smile,  _ what the hell is a kid doing in the Nether? _

Tommy inched away feeling his heels touch the edge of the cliff making a few rocks fall down into the fiery abyss “Hey now, why don’t you calm down,” The tallest began speaking but Tommy still had no idea what they were saying.

“ **Who are you people** ,” Tommy didn’t hide the venom in his voice as he spoke, obviously the three weren’t expecting him to speak piglin because they all had shocked expressions on their faces.

“ **You speak piglin?** ” The piglin hybrid finally said some words that Tommy could understand “ **What do you want** ,” Tommy ignored the man's question with his own.

“ **My brother wanted to know why a kid like you was in the Nether** ,” Techno gestured towards Wilbur who was completely lost in this conversation “ **None of your goddamn business, now leave!** ” Tommy didn’t take too kindly to being called a kid.

“ **And what if I don’t** ,” Techno took another step closer to Tommy who was hesitantly gripping his pickaxe just in case “ **Then I’ll make you and your kin leave** ,” Tommy was confident in his ability to strike while they weren’t expecting it so he lunged forwards towards Techno.

Tubbo noticed this and moved forward to stop the blow but that wouldn’t really matter since Techno had already grabbed onto the pickaxe before it could even get close to him.

“ **Well that wasn’t very nice** ,” Techno grabbed the pick and yanked it from Tommy’s arms causing the kid to fall backwards onto the edge of the cliff.

“What are you guys saying?” Wilbur was curious now and didn’t like being left out of the conversation “He’s being a little gremlin, I have no idea why a human like him would be down this low,”.

It was pretty rare for people to go to the lower floors but Wilbur was sure that the three of them were the only people to travel down this far so it made it all the more weird to find someone around Tubbo’s age down here.

“He looks like he’s been here for a while,” Tubbo chimed in noting how Tommy was all ashy and dirty from probably a year down here, Wilbur wouldn’t be surprised if the kid’s fingertips were stained black permanently by the looks of the child.

“What do you wanna do with him?” Techno asked not really sure how to handle the child “Well we can’t leave him here, I mean just look at him,” Tommy was definitely worse for wear but he still growled when Wilbur pointed in his direction.

“So we’re taking him back home?” Tommy recognised that word  _ ‘home _ ’ something Tommy had been so afraid of when he was in the overworld “Yeah, We can figure things out from there,”.

Techno took that as permission to grab Tommy by his collar and begin dragging him towards the next floor’s entrance “ **What The Fuck!? Let Me Go!** ” Tommy bit into Techno’s hand and the man let go with a yelp.

Tommy was definitely in panic mode he didn’t want to go back.

He couldn’t go back.

He couldn’tHe couldn’tHe couldn’t.

Tommy didn’t even notice the yelling from behind him as he leaped over the edge of the cliff to everyone’s horror.

Usually he would just glide down using his wings but some primal instinct in Tommy told him he couldn’t,  _ If they see you use them they’ll punish you. _

Instead Tommy used his remaining pickaxe to dig into the wall slamming into the netherrack as the pick slowed his fall until he was still already about three quarters of the way down.

Tommy noticed the three figures above him stare in shock as they watched the boy fling himself off the cliff but before Tommy could register any of it there was a burning pain in his hand.

Of course he had to dig up a lava reserve on the way down that was now spitting out onto his already burnt hand.

Tommy didn’t even think before he was letting go of the pickaxe plummeting down towards the twentieth level.

Techno had tried to make his way down the cliff as quickly as possible using a similar method to Tommy but he knew he’d been too slow when he heard the boy cry out in pain before falling down to the floor.

Tommy’s vision felt hazy as he looked up seeing the three people slowly making their way towards him.

Tommy had to run.

It didn’t matter how bad he was hurt, no matter what he couldn’t be taken.

Not again.

And so Tommy scrambled to his feet and began to limp away despite the protests of his limbs which felt like they were on fire.

Tommy slowly faded out of view as the three brothers climbed down and by the time Techno was on the ground Tommy had already disappeared.

“Well fuck,” Techno swore under his breath this mission was going to be harder than he first thought “What the hell!? How did he even survive that!” Tubbo was the last to come down panting from the effort it had taken.

“I doubt he will, If he doesn’t get medical treatment the kid will probably die,” Techno pointed out and Wilbur grimaced “Well we’ve already made a commitment so let’s go get the rascal,” Wilbur marched forward and his brothers followed smiles on their faces.

Wilbur wasn’t going to give up that easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic's chapter's are shorter than I usually do since this is just gonna be a small AU on the side of my other stuff :P


	3. Chapter 3 - Being Difficult

Tommy wasn’t expecting his day to go like this.

Currently Tommy was hobbling his way through the levels desperately trying to get back to his hole in the wall so that he could escape.

Apparently Tommy had some underlying issues because his entire reaction wasn’t something Tommy was expecting.

Especially the whole jumping off a cliff and probably causing some serious damage.

Tommy had hit his head pretty hard on the landing and could feel the fuzziness start to take over his thoughts driving him into more hysteria.

It didn’t help that Tommy couldn’t understand a goddamn thing the brothers had said to him and when he did understand he didn’t appreciate the comments.

There was a voice in the back of Tommy’s mind however and it pushed him to keep running even if the boy's legs were burning and he could no longer feel his own hands.

Tommy definitely wouldn’t be able to use his hand for a while after this as he looked down to see the skin practically charred a sickly black colour.

It was a darker black than the ash that covered Tommy’s other fingers and just looking at it made Tommy sick.

People would probably use a healing potion in these situations but Tommy hadn’t even seen one of those in years.

Even if Tommy had one he doubted he’d use it, Tommy never really got over the past and potions like that just brought back bad memories.

Back to a time where Tommy could speak normally and he was in the overworld but he wasn’t free, the Nether was the only place Tommy had ever been free in.

And a group of random strangers would not be taking that away from Tommy, so he kept running until he stumbled into the second floor.

The lava pool of a ground was deathly close to Tommy now and one wrong step would probably send him spiraling into the abyss.

Tommy checked to see that his pursuers weren’t on this level yet before unveiling his wings and flying up into his hole in the wall.

Tommy hid his wings away once more when he went inside and he collapsed on top of his makeshift bed exhausted and hurt.

Dying is probably not the best start to a day but Tommy would take it over going with those people any day of the week.

Tommy had curled up into one of the room’s corners to try and make himself as small as possible.

He didn’t want to die here but as he slowly began to lose his senses Tommy realised that this might be the end for him.

\---

“Will you two hurry up, the blood will evaporate before we can even find him at this rate,” Techno yelled towards his brothers who were several strides behind him trying to keep up the pace.

“Not all of us are built like freaking tanks!,” Tubbo was wheezing by the time he caught up with his brothers, they’d already followed the bloody trail through several floors and were now on the second level.

“Jesus it’s hot down here, I don’t think anyone’s been this far down in years,” Wilbur took off his coat as they moved forward following the trail of blood that Tommy had so conveniently left.

“He’s going to die of blood loss before we even find him,” Wilbur sighed checking his inventory to make sure he had healing potions since they’d definitely need them.

“What do you think someone so young is doing in the nether?” Wilbur questioned mostly asking Techno since his brother was from around these parts “Dunno, Probably got abandoned here or fell down a few levels and couldn’t get back up,”.

Techno was more focused on trying to find Tommy rather than worrying about how the kid had gotten here “Does he live here?” Tubbo chimed in barely able to keep up and talk at the same time.

“Seems like it. He doesn’t even know english,” That was more worrying how long he had been here that he had forgotten how to speak english or worse what if he’d never even been taught english.

“Hush, He’s close,” Techno stalked forwards towards the ledge and noticed how the trail of blood just seemed to stop at the edge of the Nether wall.

“Up there,” Tubbo pointed out a small divot in the walls structure that looked like a door of some kind “Guess we’re going up,” Techno grabbed his pickaxe and began to make his way up the wall brothers in toe.

Techno was the first to reach the door which was slightly further in the wall having enough room for Techno to stand without going inside.

Wilbur was just about there and so Techno went inside not really knowing what to expect as he noticed the blood leading him inside was more fresh.

Tommy didn’t look very flash as he sat in the corner semi conscious when he noticed Techno come inside.

Tommy didn’t have enough strength to move away when the man had walked over to him trying to see how badly Tommy was injured.

“Will! I’m gonna need those potions!” Techno yelled outside and Willbur scrambled in paling as he saw the blood covered Tommy.

“Jesus-Fuck,” Willbur fumbled through his bag in a hurry and passed over all his potions to Techno who redirected his attention to Tommy.

“ **Drink** ,” was all the warning Tommy got before Techno was shoving a potion down Tommy’s throat.

Tommy panicked.

He was being punished, he’d done something wrong.

They were healing him so that they could hurt him again.

Tommy knew.

He’d been through this before.

Tommy thrashed around as much as his body would allow and physically threw up the potion trying to get the vile liquid out of his mouth.

Techno had never seen someone react so violently towards a potion but it didn’t matter, if Tommy didn’t drink this potion he would certainly die.

“Will, Tubbs! Hold him down!” Tubbo who had just managed to get up the cliff scrambled into the room to help hold Tommy down who was surprisingly strong for the condition he was in.

Techno managed to force a few potions down Tommy’s throat before Tommy had passed out either from exhaustion or fear.

“You always manage to find the difficult ones,” Techno made a snide comment at Wilbur before the three took a breather tired from the chase.

“Is this his home?It looks pretty small, there isn’t even a bed,” Tubbo muttered as he started to walk around looking through the small amount of chests Tommy had.

“Can’t have beds in the Nether, looks like he’s been here for a while,” Techno pointed at the smaller looking clothes that were pilled at Tommy’s ‘bed’ that he had used as a pillow.

“These look like they could fit a five year old,” Wilbur held up some of the cloths noticing the scorch marks and char that covered most of them “So he’s been here for a long time,”.

Techno looked down at Tommy with pity no child should have to grow up in the Nether, especially not a human one.

“So we’re taking him home right?” Tubbo asked, seeming less and less chipper than he had before after looking through Tommy’s items.

“No doubt about it, reckon you can carry him Techno?” Techno nodded with a huff already tired from today's chase.

“If we use pearls we can be at the portal in a few hours,” Techno noted before picking up the unconscious body of Tommy bridal style.

“Then let’s get going, Tubbo grab all the kids stuff it’ll easily fit in a bag,” Tubbo nodded before emptying out the pitiful amount of items in Tommy’s chest and putting them into his bag.

Tommy’s home was completely sweeped out easily as he didn’t have many things to begin with and with that the four of them set off towards their Nether portal.

Tommy was vaguely aware of what was happening before he let himself slip into nothingness his energy completely depleted for the day.

\---

Techno was right as always and only five hours later the group of four had managed to make it to the smp’s nether hub.

The nether hub was on the seventieth floor of the Nether and was surrounded by massive trading cities that moved using the hub as their main area.

This also meant it was impossible to get to the portal without going through one of the cities bringing its own inconvenience along with it.

Usually people from the overworld needed a permit to access cities and the three brothers were no exception but the problem was that Tommy didn’t have a permit.

This would usually cause big trouble and Techno hadn’t even realised before they were already at the end of the line being next up to enter.

The only thing the three could do was pray that the guards would be lenient after they explained but to all of their surprise the guards didn’t care.

“ **He’s a Nether resident, he doesn’t need a pass** ,” was the only explanation the trio were given before they were shooed off into the city to not waste anymore of the guards time.

“So he’s been here long enough to become a resident,” Techno was honestly surprised by that even Techno who was born in the Nether still had to get a pass but for some reason Tommy didn’t need one.

“How could they even tell? Doesn’t that mean he’s been here before,” Tubbo questioned as they continued towards the portal “Probably, this might’ve been where he was born and/or dumped,” was all the answer Techno gave as they continued in silence.

Willbur walked in silence from the beginning trying to figure out what sort of thing could’ve happened to make Tommy become a resident in a hellish place like this.

“Don’t stress too much, we can just ask the kid when he wakes,” Techno put a hand on Willbur’s shoulder noticing his brothers worry “Yeah, yeah okay let’s go home,”.

They had reached the portal and it was almost like second nature drawing all of them towards it wanting to get back to the overworld as soon as possible.

The Nether had that sort of repulsion effect and it just made the trio all the more happy to get out of there and head back home to L’manberg.

They stood in the portal and were teleported back home.

Tommy didn’t even notice the shiver that went down his spine as they carried him through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is mostly just for funsy so idk if I'll update it regularly like my other one <3


	4. Chapter 4 - The Overworld

Tommy didn’t really process what was happening when he woke up.

It wasn’t like the slow and steady way people are always said to wake up no he woke up with a start.

Tommy’s vision was blurred and he could only make out a few things.

For one this wasn’t Tommy’s room, it was way too bright and strangely cold here.

Tommy was used to the warm glow of the lava beneath him and the lack of it made Tommy shiver.

Had those people brought Tommy to an upper level? No, this place was too bright and covered in sunlight.

Sunlight?

There was no sun in the Nether, only the overworld had such a thing, there was no need for a sun in a timeless void.

Someone else was definitely in the room with him as Tommy saw one of the blurs move saying something unrecognizable to him.

The light was too bright Tommy wasn’t used to it and his eyes just hadn’t adjusted yet.

Fear gripped Tommy as he realised he was at the mercy of whoever was standing over him so Tommy thrashed around darting into the corner of the room with a feral look.

The person continued to spout something but Tommy was too busy panicking about whether this temporary blindness was really temporary.

Tommy could feel the person’s presence grow closer and he put his hand up to protect his face not wanting to receive a blow in such a weakened state.

\---

Nikki was more than surprised when the three brothers had returned from their small trip to the Nether with a child in hand.

It was already weird that Techno was bridal carrying someone but when Nikki noticed that Tommy was unconscious her mind raced.

Wilbur apparently had a habit of finding random children given as Techno and Tubbo were found by him in their childhood but Nikki didn’t know he still did.

The boy apologised profusely but asked if they could use her house for a bit since their home was another few days walk away and they didn’t know when Tommy would wake up.

Nikki had agreed but the three still had jobs to do so she was left alone with the boy despite her arguments.

The kid didn’t look any older than Tubbo and looked like he’d been through the wars especially after Techno had explained what the kid had done to run away from them.

Techno also mentioned that he didn’t speak any english so Nikki had no idea how she’d communicate with him when he did wake up in her house.

After a day of sleeping Nikki assumed it was safe to do other tasks as she waited so there she was stitching together a few things when she heard a sharp breath from behind.

The boy was sat upright staring hazzily at his surroundings before getting a sudden burst of awareness when Nikki moved to check on him.

Nikki didn’t expect him to panic as bad as he did and he bolted towards the corner of the room,  _ why not the door? _

Nikki moved over to him carefully noticing how he couldn’t entirely see her not watching as she waved her hand as a hello gesture.

“Hey?” Nikki moved over to tap Tommy’s shoulder and saw him flinch up into a defensive position obviously afraid.

This wasn’t what Nikki was expecting so she moved back giving a confused gaze to Tommy as he tried to adjust to his new bright environment.

Nikki sat down a few paces away from him not wanting to spook the boy into running for the door.

\---

It had been ten minutes since Tommy had woken up and even if his vision was still slightly blurred he could make out the face in front of him.

She looked a lot more human than other people in a strange way, with more compassion in her eyes as she watched Tommy slowly adjust.

He was definitely scared right now, Tommy hadn’t been to the overworld in years and he felt like he needed to look over his shoulder just in case.

After another minute of silence Nikki spoke unsure if Tommy could understand her or not “I’m Nikki, who’re you?” Nikki gestured to herself when saying her name then pointed at Tommy trying to get the message across.

Tommy didn’t understand a single thing Nikki was trying to say and titled his head in response confused “ **What do you want from me** ,” Tommy hissed out but Nikk looked just as confused as he was.

Nikki thought for a second before grabbing a piece of paper and writing down her name with an arrow pointing to her “Nikki,” She said out loud and Tommy began to understand.

Tommy hesitantly pulled his hands away from his face giving Nikki the chance to see him properly even if he wasn’t speaking.

“ **I’m Tommy** ,” Tommy pointed at himself hoping that his name wouldn’t be mispronounced by Nikki too horribly.

“ **T-Toomey?** ” Nikki copied Tommy’s words but butchered the meaning making it sound weird and gumbled “ **T-o-m-m-y** ,” Tommy sounded out his name for the clearly flustered nikki and she nodded her head.

“Okay  **Tomm-y** do you know any english?” Nikki asked hopeful at first until he just furrowed his brow in confusion.

Tommy didn’t know how to talk to someone who didn’t speak his language and he still got flashbacks to when he first learnt how to talk from the piglins and how much of a hassle that was.

The paper was still on the floor in front of Tommy with a pencil next to it so he grabbed it hoping he could at least convey his thoughts through this.

Nikki let Tommy draw away on the paper so that she could go over to the side table and grab her communicator so that she could call in someone who actually knew what they were doing.

Wilbur was the first one to come up on her contact list so she started typing still keeping an eye on what Tommy was doing.

Nikki: Will, The kid woke up can you come over here?

Wilbur: I’ll be over in a sec! What’s he like?

Nikki: He got spooked when he first woke up and ran into the corner

Wilbur: He didn’t go to the door?

Nikki: I think it took a bit for his eyes to adjust, How long has it been since this kid has been in the overworld?

Wilbur: Don’t know, I’m grabbing Techno we’ll be there in an hour

Nikki: Okay :D

Nikki shut off the communicator and looked back over to Tommy who was trying to figure out how to get his message across.

Tommy had so many questions but one was burning in his mind, where was he; the Overworld or some weird form of the Nether.

The picture Tommy drew had a portal in the middle with the Nether on one side and what he remembered of the overworld on the other.

Luckily some symbols stayed the same in both languages so a question mark was still a question mark making it easier to convey his point.

Tommy handed the paper over to Nikki who looked at it for a moment before understanding “We’re here,” Nikki placed the paper down and pointed towards the more lively side of the Overworld.

Tommy could feel another wave of panic setting in, He couldn’t be back here he’d escaped once he can’t go back.

Now that Tommy’s vision was clearier he could make out where the door was and every instinct in his body pushed him to jump up and run.

Nikki had seen how Tommy’s breathing had become faster and his eyes trailed the door as soon as she pointed at the picture and she panicked as well.

If Tommy was to run she’d probably be able to catch him but he’d probably damage himself more by doing so.

Even if Tommy had been force fed a potion the wounds didn’t all heal instantly and his hand was still wrapped up from the lava like burn.

Nikki didn’t know how to calm Tommy down she didn’t even know why he was panicking but Nikki knew she needed to stop Tommy before he did something stupid.

Tommy’s legs twitched in anticipation wanting to run as fast as they could away from here and Tommy was ready to run until Nikki laid a hand onto his shoulder.

“Hey, Calm down okay? I’m right here,” Nikki knew Tommy didn’t understand what she was saying but she hopped that the tone would get across well enough.

Nikki moved to sit down against the wall next to Tommy not taking her hand off his shoulder until she could see he was calming down.

Tommy didn’t know why someone else's presence was so calming for him but the panic slowly started to drip away and he became more rational again.

Nikki looked worried but Tommy just buried his head into his knees not knowing what to do in this situation.

They sat there for almost an hour waiting for Tommy to calm himself down before Nikki began to speak again “Are you okay?” she put a question mark on the paper trying to get her point across to him as clear as possible.

Tommy grabbed the paper and began to harshly scratch an ‘X’ into his picture on the Overworlds side, he wasn’t meant to be here.

Nikki didn’t understand why Tommy was so aggressively against being here but she got his point when he had snapped the pencils lead just trying to cross out his drawing

Nikki was about to say something to try and comfort the boy but her communicator pinged so she went over to that leaving Tommy in the corner.

Wilbur: We’re outside rn, can you let us in pls

Nikki: I’ll be there in a second 

Nikki looked at Tommy before walking to the door and going outside leaving him alone in the room which was probably not the best idea.

\---

Wilbur stood outside with Techno waiting for Nikki to let them into her house, apparently when they had gone off to do their jobs was the moment the boy had decided to wake up.

Wilbur was a bit surprised that the boy hadn’t bolted out the door as soon as he woke up but it started to make more sense when Nikki told him about the boys vision.

Being in the dimly lit Nether for so long was obviously going to have an effect especially if he is just thrown into the Overworld with a bright sun that he hadn’t seen in so long.

Still the whole situation didn’t sit right with Wilbur, even if the boy had been living there his whole life it wouldn’t make sense that he was still alive.

Sure there are some safe spaces in the Nether but until you’re old enough to form comprehensive sentences and defend yourself the place is basically a death trap.

Piglins usually attack younger children because they fear for their own young and children are just too noisy to be safely kept in such a hostile environment.

It took Nikki a few minutes to reach them but she eventually opened the door for the two.

“Hellooo,” Techno greeted Nikki and she smiled pulling them both inside and locking the door behind her.

Nikki lived on the second floor of her own bakery so the interior was stylised for all the fresh pastries that were usually sitting within the display cases.

“He’s upstairs, he seems pretty spooked though,” Nikki cautioned as the brothers started to make their way upstairs towards the guest room.

Techno followed closely behind Wilbur who wanted to take the lead in this since he was less intimidating than his older brother.

A spooked child probably didn’t want to be greeted by Techno who was currently kitted out because he was out hunting before Wilbur had called.

“Oh yeah! The kids name is  **Tomm-y** or something like that,” Nikki called out from the bottom of the stairs and Techno chuckled to himself about Nikki’s horrible pronunciation.

Wilbur walked across the upstairs hallway and towards the last door which was usually reserved as the guest bedroom.

Wilbur made sure to open the door obviously, not wanting to scare Tommy who was apparently huddled up on the floor in here.

Traumatized children were apparently drawn to Wilbur like moths to a flame and he had already gotten his two brothers through various strange events.

Wilbur entered the room “Hello?”.

Tommy could almost feel his skin actually crawl when he heard Wilbur’s voice.

He was going to chase Tommy again.

They were going to hurt him.

Tommy needed to run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is kinda badly writtennnn, this is just a story on the side of my other one so it'll be a bit more lazy soz <3


	5. Chapter 5 - Having A Chat

Wilbur didn’t know didn’t know what he expected when he had entered the room but this certainly wasn’t it.

Wilbur had opened the door slowly and as it had finally completely opened he felt paper being shoved into his face.

Tommy had thrown the paper into Wilbur’s face in an attempt to distract the man as he ran past aiming for the stairs.

It all happened fair too quickly for Techno to even react as Tommy ran past him and basically flung himself down the stairs with a thud.

Nikki had at least had the common sense to lock the front door after the two had come in so Tommy didn’t have a way out but Techno and Will ran down nonetheless.

Tommy had gone straight for the front door as expected but grimaced when he found it to be locked and looked for a second escape route.

Nikki had been in her kitchen trying to get some semblance of work done when she heard the shuffling upstairs and the ensuing commotion.

Running out of the kitchen quicker than the brothers could get down the stairs Nikki watched Tommy frantically try and find a way out of the bakery.

Nikki didn’t know why but once she locked eyes with Tommy she nodded and he came running behind her and into the kitchen where she stood in the doorway protectively.

He looked positively terrified and there was no way to get out from the kitchen so she saw it was fine to let him run off and huddle up into one of the corners of the room.

Honestly Nikki didn’t understand the stance she took as the two brothers shuffled down the stairs but she knew she was giving them a nasty glare.

“And what in the world do you two think you’re doing?” Nikki questioned, they had managed to get Tommy to panic in a space of a few seconds when they had gone to talk to him.

“He threw paper at me then ran!” Wilbur held his hands up in defense feeling like he was about to get a lecture from the very angry woman in front of him.

“Well why did he run in the first place?” Nikki looked at him still not entirely convinced “I don’t know! Maybe we freaked him out or something,” Nikki calmed down after that, at least the two hadn’t intentionally made the boy distressed.

“Why’d he go?” Techno asked after checking that Tommy hadn’t run off to another part of the building “He’s in the kitchen,” Nikki pointed behind her and the two could just barely see a blond tuft of hair poking out from behind one of the tabletops.

“So what’re we gonna do, if me and Techno can’t even get near him without him panicking how is Techno supposed to talk to him?” Wilbur asked as Nikki shifted her stance to something more relaxed.

“You two are going to sit down while I try and get him to calm down, then I’ll get him out here,” Wilbur huffed realising he wouldn’t be able to win this fight and sat down at one of the tables along with Techno who seemed to care a whole lot less.

\---

Tommy doesn’t know why he had run behind Nikki into the kitchen but now here he was sitting in the corner behind one of the kitchen benches.

He could hear voices outside but couldn’t recognise the words they were saying so inside he tucked his head down more trying to become as small as possible.

Tommy just wanted to go home.

These people were terrifying and Tommy just wanted to go back to his house.

The fact that Tommy was having a few sight difficulties wasn’t helping at all; it made him feel more exposed and venerable.

Tommy could feel himself start to panic a bit more when he heard footsteps coming into the kitchen and he could barely bring himself to lift his head and see who it was.

The person standing opposite to him was Nikki who had a worried expression on her face before she sat down on the floor across from Tommy as she leant against the bench.

“ **Tommy** ?” even if Nikki only knew how to say his name it still made Tommy feel more at ease that she was saying something he could understand.

Nikki understood that silence was probably better than any words she would fail to communicate so she simple sat down there for a few minutes letting Tommy get used to her presence.

After ten minutes or so Tommy shifted his position moving his legs to stretch them out instead of having them closely tucked into himself.

Nikki noticed this and smiled slowly pushing herself up off of the group being careful not to startle Tommy.

Tommy looked at her questioningly until she reached out her hand offering him assistance in getting up himself.

Everything in Tommy’s mind was flaring and he could almost hear the alarms his body gave at getting up but despite that he grabbed her hand.

After Nikki had pulled Tommy up out of his little corner she noticed how small the boy was looking extremely frail for someone who Wilbur had said was around Tubbo’s age.

Nikki smiled at Tommy, keeping hold of his hand as she led him out of the kitchen and into the dinning area.

Tommy wasn’t a bitch so he let go to walk on his own outside even if he still kept a bit behind Nikki trying to hide himself a bit more.

Outside in the dining area still sat Wilbur and Techno who were both playing on their communicators out of sheer boredom.

Nikki coughed grabbing their attention and Wilbur looked over towards Tommy who felt his resolve crumble in on itself making him want to run once more.

“ **Greetings child** ,” Techno barely looked up from his communicator and addressed Tommy “ **I am not a fucking child!** ” Tommy protested feeling his fear slowly be replaced with his usual anger.

“ **Whatever you say kid** ,” Techno brushed Tommy off, noticing how Nikki and Wilbur were looking at him confused since they had no idea what he had said to make Tommy not react like he wanted to flee.

“What’re you guys saying?” Wilbur asked and Techno just moved on with a huff “Tell Tommy to sit down, I’ll go get some drinks,” Said Nikki as she walked towards the kitchen leaving Tommy there.

Tommy was confused and stayed there because he didn’t really know what to do “ **Sit down, Nikki will be back in a bit** ,” Techno gestured towards the seat across from him and Tommy sat down refusing to make eye contact with either man in front of him.

Techno was mostly just there to act as a translator so Wilbur began speaking and Techno relayed the message “ **Your name’s Tommy?** ” Tommy scoffed “ **What’s it to you big man** ,”.

Techno ignored the last remark and continued translating “ **How old are you Tommy?** ” Tommy realised he wasn’t actually talking to Techno so he began to address Wilbur instead “ **Old enough for it to be weird for a buncha dudes to kidnap me** ,”.

Tommy had venom in his speech but it didn’t really get across to Wilbur who was still smiling as happily as before trying to be more calming like Nikki was “ **That’s not really an answer** ,”.

“ **Doesn’t matter anyway, I’m leaving you fuckers as soon as I find a portal** ,” Tommy spat out trying to give away as much information as possible as he talked to the two men.

“ **Oh really? How’re you gonna get back home, It’s a pretty low level from where our portal starts** ,” Techno could still remember how it had taken the three a few days to get to that floor without the use of pearls.

“ **I’ve done it before, It’s not really your problem** ,” Tommy shifted his gaze to the kitchen as Nikki walked out placing a glass of water on the table for Tommy “ **Since Wilbur decided to take you in it kinda is my problem now** ,”.

Take him in? What did that even mean? Was this Wilbur guys planning on keeping Tommy here in the Overworld?

“ **Oh fuck no, I’m out of here as soon as possible** ,” Techno raised an eyebrow slightly confused as to why Tommy would want to go back to that hellsacpe but relayed the message anyway.

Nikki sat down next to Tommy listening in on the conversation and Tommy took that as permission to take a big gulp of water from the glass in front of him.

In the Nether there was any water since it would simply evaporate so instead they drank other liquids that came from the plants and god did that stuff taste awful.

Water had a very prominent metallic taste to Tommy who hadn't had it in several years and after a moment's hesitation he chugged down the whole glass in a few seconds.

Unbeknownst to Tommy everyone was staring at him all with varying degrees of worry on their faces as they watched him chug down the glass like it was the last one on earth.

“ **You born in the Nether Tommy?** ” Techno questioned recognising that reaction as the same one he had when he’d first tried water “ **Raised there** ,” Tommy corrected as he finished the glass and placed it back down onto the table.

“ **Raised? So you got a family?** ” Tommy could feel himself be repulsed by the word he never had a family and never would “ **No, The piglins took me in** ,” Tommy corrected, noticing the slight disbelief in Wilbur’s eyes as Techno translated.

“ **Piglins are known to be hostile towards humans** ,” Techno stated, looking at Tommy for any sign of a lie, of course Tommy was only a bit human so it didn’t really apply to him “ **I was just damn lucky** ,”.

Tommy sat there as the three discussed a bit in english before Techno turned back to him “ **How long have you been alone in the Nether?** ” Talk about personal questions and Tommy almost didn’t answer until he saw Nikki.

She was the one who had asked the question and Tommy felt he owed the girl at least something for what she had done “ **Five ish years, Not counting my time with the Piglin’s of course** ,” Tommy honestly didn’t know how to keep track of time but he guessed the best he could.

Techno nodded and relayed the information once more watching as the two english speakers paled at the information that Tommy had survived alone in the Nether for so long.

“ **Okay well Tommy, your staying here with us at least until your healed up** ,” Techno stated matter of factly and Tommy went to protest “ **Fuck no---!** ” Techno spoke up “ **Or we could heal you right now with a potion and let you on your way** ,”.

Techno knew he had hit the mark when Tommy quieted down shrinking a bit more into his chair at the mention of potions.

Logically it made no sense for someone to be so afraid of potions even to the point where they threw up but Techno suspected there was something deeper there that they’d have to get out of the boy eventually.

Nikki noticed Tommy’s reaction to Techno’s words and glared at the man before he translated what he had said “No way in hell he’s staying with you two baffoons, I’ll keep him here at the shop,” Nikki interjected, noticing how Wilbur was about to speak.

“But you can’t even understand him, at least with us Techno can---,” Nikki butted in “I have a communicator Wilbur which means I can translate writing and it’s better he doesn’t speak at all instead of running away,”.

Wilbur knew how stubborn Nikki could be on stuff like this so he gave in with a sigh giving Techno the nod to translate “ **You are gonna stay with Nikki for now, She’ll speak to you with her communicator** ,” Tommy seemed confused, what was a communicator?

And just as fast as they had entered the two boys left realising that Nikki could probably get more out of Tommy if they weren’t present.

“Okay Tommy, You’ll be staying with me for a while is that okay?” Nikki typed her sentence in the communicator and watched as it was crudely translated into something Tommy could read.

Tommy nodded not knowing how to give his response without one of those weird devices and Nikki took that as he que to start packing up the glasses.

“Cool, Since you're with me anyway you can help me out,” Nikki walked towards the kitchen and Tommy followed like a loyal puppy curious as to what was going to happen.

This didn’t seem too bad so far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I'm not dead I'm just really busy writing for school :/

**Author's Note:**

> Woop another AU here I come,  
> This AU is a completely different timeline but some events still happened  
> If y'all have any questions about this AU ask in the comments <3


End file.
